Public Lands and Conservation

Represented municipal entities and local governments seeking a federal permit for an infrastructure project, procuring a right-of-way on BLM land, invalidating old mining claims, ensuring consistency of energy development projects with local plans and infrastructure, and evaluating overflight regulations for Grand Canyon National Park.

Represented non-governmental entities on a variety of public lands projects, such as challenging the BLM’s approval of a motorized trail through a pristine area, protecting roadless areas in national forests from oil and gas development, evaluating a new mountain-bike trail network proposed in valuable elk calving habitat, commenting on and opposing a permit application for a proposed interstate water pipeline and defending the establishment of national monuments.

Advised non-profit organization on strategies to require reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from uses of public lands and represented non-profit organization in preparing a protest of a BLM Resource Management Plan, largely as to climate implications of proposed management of mineral resources.

Represented residents and business owners in opposing a development on the rim of the Grand Canyon, seeking a federal permit to install a work of art on public lands and developing school trust lands while preserving large tracts as natural prairie.

Represented a homeowners’ association protecting instream flows in a river through the area.

Represent a biological laboratory performing climate change-related research in a national forest.

Represented a ranch participating as an affected party in a federal land exchange to recruit a conservation buyer to take title to a portion of the exchanged lands.

Represented clients in precedent-setting RS 2477 litigation in federal district court in Utah and in the Tenth Circuit

Represent rafting companies seeking access to run trips using public land.

In addition, the firm has:

• represented ski areas and operators in acquiring permit approvals from the Forest Service and BLM for changes and expansions in operations.
• successfully acquired renewed special use permit for historic cabin operations
• challenged oil and gas lease sales in areas proposed by citizen groups for inclusion in the National Wilderness Preservation System.
• led negotiations on a state-specific federal rule as to the management and conservation of 4.2 million acres of roadless lands of the U.S. Forest Service
• represented state agency participating as a Cooperating Agency for adoption or revision of Bureau of Land Management Resource Management Plans, U.S. Forest Service Land and Resource Management Plans, and the like.

Representative Cases

Center for Biological Diversity v. U.S. FWS, Nos. 19-7585, 19-17586 (9th Cir., filed Sept. 18, 2020) (filed amicus brief on behalf of a group of law professors in support of plaintiff’s position that national forest lands without any mineral value cannot be used to dispose of tailings from a mine on other federal lands)

Mass. Lobstermen’s Ass’n v. Ross, 945 F.3d 535 (D.C. Cir. 2019) (filed amicus brief on behalf of National Audubon Society in support of President’s authority to designate Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument)

Dvorak Expeditions, Inc. v. BLM, IBLA Nos. 2019-0104; 0105; 0106 (represented rafting expedition company in successfully staying BLM’s cancelation of special recreation permits and resolving Board of Land Appeals proceeding with agreement reinstating permits).

Wilderness Society v. Trump, No. 17-cv-02587 (D.D.C., filed 2017) (filed amicus brief on behalf of archeological groups supporting plaintiffs’ position that the President does not have the authority to diminish national monuments)

Rags Over the Ark. River, Inc. v. BLM, No. 12-cv-0265-WJM, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 324 (D. Colo. Jan. 2, 2015) (defended permittee’s interest in permit for temporary installation of a public work of art on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land)

Rags Over the Ark. River, Inc. v. Colo. Parks & Wildlife Bd., 360 P.3d 186 (Colo. App.2015) (represented state permittee as an intervenor/appellee in case challenging the permit)

Seherr-Thoss v. Teton County Board of County Commissioners, 329 P.3d 936 (Wyo. 2014) (represented Teton County in gravel permitting matter)

Clark County v. FAA, 522 F.3d 437 (D.C. Cir. 2008) (successfully challenged federal agency approval of siting of towers near end of proposed new airport runway)

River Runners for Wilderness v. Martin, 2007 Westlaw 4200677 (D. Ariz. 2007), aff’d, 574 F.3d 723 (9th Cir. 2009) (successfully defended agency’s allocation of permits and management prescriptions for Colorado River through Grand Canyon National Park)